Abstract
BACKGROUND: We investigated the use of a simple novel nut and bolt task in premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease (HD) patients to detect and quantify motor impairments at all stages of the disease.
METHODS: Premanifest HD (n=24), manifest HD (n=27) and control (n=32) participants were asked to screw a nut onto a bolt in one direction, using three different sized bolts with their left and right hand in turn.
RESULTS: We identified some impairments at all stages of HD and in the premanifest individuals, deficits in the non-dominant hand correlated with disease burden scores.
CONCLUSION: This simple, cheap motor task was able to detect motor impairments in both premanifest and manifest HD and as such might be a useful quantifiable measure of motor function for use in clinical studies.
Original language | English |
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Journal | PLoS Currents Disasters |
Volume | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Sept 2015 |
Profiles
-
Alpar Lazar
- School of Health Sciences - Associate Professor in Dementia and Complexity in Later Life
- Lifespan Health - Member
- Dementia & Complexity in Later Life - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Research Centre Member, Academic, Teaching & Research